SEDA-COG official: Erosion concerns in Tharptown to be addressed ASAP

SHAMOKIN - The executive director of SEDA-COG's Joint Rail Authority says erosion concerns along the rail bed in Tharptown will quickly be addressed.

"Our railroad operator, the Shamokin Valley Railroad, is working with the (Northumberland County) conservation district inspector to be in full compliance. The railroad did have the area hydroseeded in late spring, but more needs to be done, and will be done ASAP," Jeffery K. Stover, JRA executive director, wrote by email Thursday.

A drainage ditch was regraded and cross pipes either cleaned or installed. An inspection June 24 found that sediment spilled into the creek and that erosion and pollution was a continued risk. The disturbed dirt is unstabilized and susceptible to erosion, especially during rainfall, according to the inspector, who noted several violations of the Clean Streams Law.

The inspection was made in the area where the railroad intersects with John's Estate Road, near Penelope Murphy's Bed and Breakfast, following a citizen complaint. Similar conditions were noted in a November inspection.

According to Peter Symons, of the North Shore Railroad Co., following the inspection, rip rap was added around a new pipe along with stone added outside all pipes. Also, the ground between the railroad and the creek was leveled off.

Symons said a meeting is set for Monday with a company to seed the creek bank. The area between Hospital Road and the railroad had already been seeded.

A follow-up inspection is slated for July 15.

Shamokin Creek overflowed in 2011, flooding residents' basements. Debris from upstream and from eroded creek banks built up in the channel, which township commissioners say increases flood risk.

The township's application for $1.5 million in state funds that would have been used for flood control projects in both Tharptown and Ranshaw was turned down last fall.

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